Classic Rockers Introduce Their Backup Groups Quiz

Answer: Teenagers

The Teenagers are Herman Santiago, Jimmy Merchant, Joe Negroni and Sherman Garnes. Behind the scenes production chaos eventually separated Frankie from The Teenagers. They went on to meet with only minimal success. Confirmed deceased are Negroni (cerebral hemorrhage 1978) and Garnes (died in prison, cause unknown 1977). Regrettably, the enormously influential Lymon died of a drug overdose in 1968.

He influenced a number of performers including Ronnie Spector who sounded quite a bit like him.

Answer: Rhythm Orchids

Buddy was backed by the Rhythm Orchids which originally included Don Lanier, Dave Alldred, and Jimmy Bowen. Bowen recorded his own hit, "I'm Stickin' With You" and became his own stand-alone rock entity.

Answer: Fireballs

The Fireballs were George Tomasco, Stan Lark, and Eric Budd. The group had a cool instrumental hit entitled "Torquay". After the success of "Sugar Shack" neither Gilmer or The Fireballs made much further impact, except for the Fireballs release of 'Bottle of Wine' in 1969.

Answer: Belmonts

The Belmonts were Angelo D'Abo, Freddie Milano, and Carlo Mastrangelo. Dion and his group all came from around Belmont Ave. in the Bronx. They had a few extremely memorable hits before Dion embarked on his highly successful solo career. On their own, The Belmonts had lesser success.

Their early work was impressive enough to get the group booked in 1958 as fourth billing on the Winter Dance Party Tour after Buddy Holly, Richie Valens, and the Big Bopper. The tragic events following the show on February 3 at the Surf Ballroom in Cedar Lake, Iowa changed the course of rock history in various ways forever.

Answer: Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs

The Pharaohs were Ray Stinnet, David Martin, Jerry Patterson, and Butch Gibson. Butch was the sax player added last in the group. They had a number of fun hits including "Lil Red Riding Hood", "JuJu Hand", and "Red Hot". By the late sixties the group had disbanded. Sam released an album in the seventies entitled "Sam, Hard and Heavy".

Answer: Cannibal and the Headhunters

Cannibal and the Headhunters was one of several Latin-rock groups from Los Angeles in the mid-sixties. The Headhunters had terrific names: Robert "Rabbit" Jaramilo, Joe "Yo-Yo" Jaramilo, and Richard "Scar" Lopez.
Their big 1965 hit was a live cover of a 1963 hit by Chris Kenner called "Land of a 1000 Dances". Frankie Garcia reportedly earned the name "Cannibal" when he bit an opponent during a fight.

Answer: Pacemakers

The Pacemakers consisted of (aside from Gerry): Leslie Maguire, Leslie Chadwick, and Fred Marsden. The group rose to fame in the wake of Beatlemania and managed to hit it big in America with "Don't Let the Sun Catch You Crying", "It's Gonna Be Alright", and "How Do You Do It?", among others.

His brother Freddie was part of the group. They originally played as a skiffle group as so many British groups did. Early on Gerry and brother Freddie formed a group calling themselves, amusingly, "The Mars Bars".

Answer: Rosie and the Originals

Rosie and the Originals charted again in 1961 with "Lonely Blue Nights". Rosie Hamalin was quite flattered to be cited by John Lennon in a 1969 interview as one of his favorite singers. Rosie was born in Alaska but considers San Diego her hometown where she generously volunteers today with young people in the area of music.

Answer: Tabulations

Brenda and the Tabulations hailed from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The group did well with a series of hits including "The Touch of You" and "When You're Gone". The Tabulations were: Jerry Jones, Deborah Martin, Eddie Jackson, Maurice Coates, Pat Mercer, and Bernard Murphy.

Answer: Sandi and the Accents

The Accents were Don Beck, Tony Johnson, Gabe Lapano, Don Lovas, Frankie Mannix, and Doug Myers. They recorded singles from 1964 to 1966. The group disbanded when Myers was drafted into the Army. They did manage a 30-year reunion in 1996. Their other smooth sides with Sandi's lilting voice included "I've Got Better Things to Do" and "Then He Starts to Cry".